The Syracuse 2-3 Zone: What Works And What Doesn't

[@theshimgawd6296]

Everybody saying the zone is for cowards but the zone teaches teamwork and its rare that college players come into the NBA elite defenders, they'll learn as they go. Syracuse can win the championship by using college players anxiousness and mistakes against them. Not many teams can consistently beat the zone for the whole game.

[@joenathan3005]

+jayy Walker UNC sure did. 83 points.

[@theshimgawd6296]

+Joe Nathan too bad they couldn't win it all

[@joenathan3005]

+jayy Walker yeah, too bad Paige's shot was only worth 3 points :(

[@coach9410]

Despite having some really good teams in the 80's and 90's, there's a reason they only have one championship in 50 years though. Zones allow teams with inferior talent to hang around for 40 minutes. they rely on missed shots, and if a team with inferior talent move the ball well they'll stay in the game.

[@saxonbromley8648]

This guy deserves 1 million subs, take note how long it takes to edit. And even longer analysing the plays

[@blackmayb3]

+Saxon Bromley most casual fans don't care about this shit just W and Ls

[@saxonbromley8648]

+Michael Jackson true

[@bballbreakdown]

+Saxon Bromley thanks! #ImIn

[@donsmith2838]

Syracuse beat Gonzaga and Virginia. Unranked Syracuse knocked out two top 5 teams. So the zone worked perfectly.

[@251to502]

In Virginia’s case, Syracuse knew the Cavaliers were more than willing to take jump shots being that they rely on making them to compliment their pace. What also helped, was Richardson’s play understanding that you have to be able to play at both speeds.

[@metalmilitia1890]

Its something that I mentioned to you some time ago. I remember when you posted a video of the 2011 playoffs I believe, where the Lakers played against the Suns, who also used a 2-3 zone on the Lakers. If you recall, I said the way to beat the zone is to either attack seam in the middle or to overload one side of the zone. It's a football concept that translates here too. Many of these clips I see show at least 4 players on one side of the court which causes the zone to collapse

[@bballbreakdown]

+Robert Ito yes, great points!

[@kegstandman4206]

go middle then pivet and pass opposite

[@Mr._Chievous]

@@kegstandman4206 pivet. lol

[@aaronjohnson6622]

Ever since you said Syracuse's Coach is hurting his players by zoning exclusively I stopped teaching zone for my 11-12 year old recreation team. Instead, I've taught help defense. This season I have a 9-10 year old team and an 11-12 year old team and I teach them both help defense. My favorite zone breaker is overload. Put everyone on one side, set screens, and get creative and I promise this works for any level. Especially for teams with good shooters. It's lights out!

[@bballbreakdown]

+The Healthiest Skeptic awesome. That said, I don't mind zone, just not 100% of the time.

[@DANGRMAN57]

it would be awesome if you did a video on kareem abdul-jabbar's sky hook

[@DANGRMAN57]

+Haos CallOfLRevengeance youre right

[@thescatman5029]

Remember, Cuse made adjustments against Gonzaga. The zone always 'shadowed' Sabonis later on, and the fact that Wiltjer was shooting bricks in the second half didn't hurt! As we know, in the Elite Eight, Cuse went to the press, to expose Virginia's lack of athleticism....!

[@khoinguyen22]

9:35 lol the bench sits back down in shame xD

[@DJplotasxl]

Do video about Domantas Sabonis father, Arvydas Sabonis - the best lithuanian player of all time and one of the smartest centers of all time!!

[@willhooke]

Would have been great to have him in the NBA without injuries. Amazing centre! Would have given those elite 90s centres a run for their money!

[@LankyBeanss]

well coach Nick, My C's beat the warriors, is that what we have to do to get a video?

[@glennsmith8373]

Hey Coach Nick, send this video to Bill Self! KU offense against Nova zone was sad and the team looked clueless.

[@samimomin6616]

I know this is unrelated but can u do a video on russ's trip dubs and spurs historic home start

[@gralgirdas1]

Sabonis is great player as I can see from this video

[@Hakwbebsu26]

Time flies

[@willhooke]

This is very helpful 💯

[@qwemp]

I am a long-time viewer of your content +bballbreakdown. Why is this not available on the app? I thought that that was where you wanted us to watch your videos...

[@zeroun92]

The 2-3 does appear to be effective at defending perimeter based offenses that don't use the baseline. It actually is pretty effective against a team like the Warriors unless there was a low post threat and multiple handlers who could pass to the open man. The NBA should think about using it occasionally.

[@beidouvirus3978]

Actually, Draymond, Ezeli and Bogut are probably low post threats, and I heard they can pass to the open men, especially Dray.

[@zeroun92]

Manu Perez I know lol. I said it in almost an ironic fashion. Guess I didn't sell well. Trying it occasionally would put you in a place to force the Warriors to play Ezeli or Bogut which would help when the lineup of Death is in play. Dray would have to baseline handle or be in the post which would slow that lineup down in my opinion.

[@PanzehVideos]

+Stanley Terrell Anderson II Some NBA teams will use zones for a few possessions to throw offenses off. Rick Carlisle loves to do it. It's not consistent though because if you look at NBA level shooters the kind of space they need is very minimal and the swing passes available will give them that shot.

[@zeroun92]

+Panzeh yea I don't think anything will work long term against one opponent. just that staying down in man to man isn't working. friend of mine suggested that 2-3 match may disrupt a few possessions.

[@josephcox3091]

3-2 zone two big man down low might help against the death little line up the warriors use you wouldn't give up many offensive rebounds the two big man down low should grab boards due to size advantage and the three guards up top can prevent threes from the wing and key the two big man can probably cheat a step too the corner as there is little post threat unless they play boget and even still it would only be a one on one situation.

[@deandrepage1048]

Early Offense DHO's are good for moving the 2-3 Zone defense also.

[@twashtalk]

If the NBA didn't have the defensive three seconds, the zone would be used more often like they use in FIBA.

[@MichaelYoung-hy3nm]

I remember in middle school how zones worked

[@natshirley101]

+MyCoal Gemini Yep takes a lot of composure and team work to break down zones. Something as you might imagine, school teams lack in.

[@michaeld2613]

Zone defense is perfectly fine if you are at a significant talent disadvantage, which is the case for a lot of youth teams. It'll hurt their development down the road though, but let's be honest: not many youth-level players are scholarship/NBA kids anyway. Teamwork, winning, and comradery on the other hand are habits/attitudes all kids can take with them for the rest of their lives.

[@LMFAndrewO]

Did everyone forget the zone won the Mavs a championship?

[@wsxgfhccr]

Don't forget who coached their matchup zone defense. Rick Carlisle is one of the top underrated NBA coach, who knows how to mask the weaker and slower defensive players on his team

[@junheeho6311]

+LMFAndrewO Just because they play great help defense and can afford to cheat and half-double against Miami Heat's perimeter shooters, it doesn't mean they're playing zone defense. The basic fundamentals of man-to-man was the foundation of their defense, they had to put a body between the basket and the Heat's athletes at all times. They played great help defense against a rather predictable and stagnant offensive team by double-teaming only when necessary and recovering quickly to the open man and great weak-side help defense to account for two offensive players when needed by having good spacial awareness to contest the passing lanes and still be able to recover quickly to the man. The Mavericks also have a rim protector in a mold that is close to what you would call a tradition big man, in Chandler, and that gives help defenders on that team less responsibility when it comes to defending the paint hence they do not have to over-play and force their hand on defense and can afford to cheat, help and recover on defense and to their credit they do it responsibly and very well but the Heat did make it easier for them as they rarely did anything to force the defense to over-play their hand.

[@junheeho6311]

+LMFAndrewO They played defense with great man-to-man defense as their foundation with great help defense & P&R defense. The Heat made their job easier by being predictable more often than not and their offense was pretty stagnant overall. But to the Maverick's credit, they had great team-work, awareness, positioning as a unit when it comes to double-teaming, trapping and recovering on defense and adapt on the fly. They can afford to cheat, half-double to a certain extend as long as they do it responsibly without overplaying and leaving the weak-side open. The key to their defense is that they always have a body between the basket and any offensive player, even if they are forced to move away slightly and have to cheat on the weak-side, they know how to do it without over-playing and giving up the options that the offense would gladly take, they defend the passing lanes to offensive players on the weak-side and still have the awareness, positioning and work ethic to recover and contest as much as possible and keep everyone accountable. They played great defense that goes beyond zone defense and man-to-man but the foundation is still man-to-man because they always try to put a body between the basket and any Heat player and from there they read and react and try not to over-play and give the offense the obvious options and letting LeBron James or Dwayne Wade try to go 'hero-ball' which is predictable and ineffective for the most part and definitely was not good enough to out-score the Mavericks shooting streak, which is a whole different story.

[@bballbreakdown]

+LMFAndrewO no, but they didn't play it 100% of the time.

[@t4d0W]

+LMFAndrewO Mavs played primarily man to man in the finals series against the Heat 2011. You revisionists who don't even watch games are the worst.

[@Bassgesicht]

Honestly, 30sec shotlock is a huge problem here. You can play zone pretty effectively, but if you still have 12sec on the clock, after a series of good defensive rotations that's just not fair

[@deandrepage1048]

1-3-1 Zone Offense with a 3-point shooter running at the bottom, even if 1 of your BIGS have to occupy a wing.😀😀😀 Baseline runner CORNER -to- CORNER, plus using skip passes to exhaust the 2-3 Zone Defense.

[@Basketballfreak90]

Any chance we can get a preview of the UNC Nova game tonight from a coach's perspective?

[@thenightmaricsenpai524]

One advantage of this style of defense is the control of the game's pace, as offenses will need to be very patient in order to get a good shot. And if that shot misses, you better hope you have a strong rebounder near the paint, otherwise the defense will easily get the rebound.

[@ryankraut9496]

I like how this guy only picked the plays where the zone wasn't active and give no credit at all to the defense

[@Mr._Chievous]

do?... like it?

[@patrickeve1669]

Hey Chris.

[@pedrol4200]

do a video about the rockets epuc cavs comeback

[@nickthorpe7567]

I see a lot of people requesting a russ breakdown.. Could you explain why on earth the thunder would trade dj for randy foye? All of the spacing woes on their iso's can be traced back to robertson (25%@3) having to step in for augustine after the trade (45%@3)

[@timothyc34]

Love your videos! Can you help me change the verbiage of "left his/your feet"? It's been bugging me for years. You can't leave your feet but you can leave the ground.

[@bballbreakdown]

+Tim C haha, you are right. Hmm, I can try.

[@Phantim3dx]

One effective way is to admit Coach Nick's bias on his anti-Syracuse (as he indirectly states in his podcast) and realize Syracuse had more moxy and let their nuts show in front of a Gonzaga team that's always overrated come the dance in March and out-hustled/strategized by Boeheim vs Virginia.

[@bballbreakdown]

+Phantim3dx I don't see how my bias towards 100% zone had any bearing on this video

[@LuisCastillo-mw5ww]

Whose here after SDSU loss ??

[@Braselton21]

Is there no Def 3 Sec in the key violation?

[@brucebball6377]

Videos starts at 0.00

[@michaelwelch3856]

Well here comes a "How the Celtics beat the Warriors at home" video. C's up!

[@lyanbv]

it would have been stronger if they had a 2-3-4 zone defence. surely the attacking team will fail

[@goofytuna6077]

6:40 I think you meant dunk

[@gblackmon1232]

What type of 2 3 zone is that

[@JohnyMcledoo]

your how to beat a zone video includes a lot of turnovers and stops. Looks more like a zone works video.

[@justincallan2549]

At 8:06 who was out of position number 21 or number 23 I'm confused?

[@beidouvirus3978]

Probably 23 because he wasn't defending anyone. Coach also said "seal in the post" meaning someone in the paint, either the center or the cutter. Number 21 was between the post player and his man, so he probably wasn't out of position

[@justincallan2549]

+Manu Perez yeah but isn't number 21 "the left forward"? Plus number 21 should have been a lot lower anyways since number 0 was two feet from his man on the perimeter.

[@justincallan2549]

+Manu Perez coach if you see this can you clarify for us?

[@beidouvirus3978]

Justin Callan I'm pretty sure "left side of the court" is seen in the offense's POV, meaning the side on top of the screen is the left. That's what I guess anyway. And #0 was way farther than 2 feet away from (Gonzaga's) #23. That gap seems more like 15-20 feet. Syracuse's #21 is already covering 2 feet with his legs.

[@raziakhan9107]

Justin Calla

[@trevorf8271]

Break down Isaiah Thomas!

[@leonoflight]

just need a shooter who can run the court to shoot. against the zone marking with one screener.

[@rocoop21able]

I can't find the video of the zone defense he came up with like the Mavs did to Steph Curry

[@ohioaprilbaby8745]

Zone is the smartest d u can play

[@toddgoza3522]

Carmelo year they ran that 2-3 to dam near perfect and they were athletic & had height just ask KU fans lol

[@thescatman5029]

And for the NBA, when the zone was implemented, the 'defensive three seconds' was a compromise to Shaq. Time to junk that nonsense rule.....!

[@duronbryant9463]

The Scatman I agree plus it will slow the game down I agree

[@bugsyproductions3140]

Man to man defense only works if you have five elite on ball defenders.

[@deandrepage1048]

Dallas Mavericks didn't like a dose of their own last night, the Lakers used a 2-3 Zone Defense to teach Coach Carlisle a lesson. 😀😀😀 Shame that Kyle Kuzma scored zero points = fire that trainer who taunted Lebron.

[@tmillz331]

I hate zones. its not gonna help players who get drafted cuz teams in the nba rarely play zone. if you cant play man to man defense in the nba you will get exposed nightly. 2-3 zones imo are for intramural leagues

[@MrTripleAEnt]

It's not that hard lol man to man isn't complicated this isn't gonna hurt the players

[@tmillz331]

MrTripleAEnt so playing man to man in the nba is easy?

[@nicholasdrier2049]

+A.R. Smith but if the player is good enough is doesn't matter they will know how to play man

[@objectionable9891]

+A.R. Smith the nba is a pick n roll league, so being able to switch, double, close out and guard multiple positions is important, you get all of that playing a zone so its fine, and they don't just forget how to defend man to man

[@tmillz331]

Objectionable im not sayin they'll forget im sayin man in the nba is way different than in college, that's the kind of defense they should be playing in college, but that's just my opinion

[@92greendogs]

to quote bomani jones "zone is for cowards"

[@khale7278]

I love his podcast

[@92greendogs]

+It's Nick so do you play zone defense in pick up? or you a syracuse fan?

[@92greendogs]

+It's Nick what makes him such an annoying loser? just curious?

[@prestoncallahan7118]

I'm 9 and Syracuse will win the national championship.

[@brianjose7066]

Woah dude you're smart

[@jaytlk]

I wonder if players/coaches watches these videos...

[@jaytlk]

angelo cardoso I meant from the NBA/NCAA

[@chrisnease88]

They would probably just bring him in as a consultant if they needed help.

[@TheSeargentStriker]

anyone noticed that on every college team there is one player is wearing the number 23??it is fucking annoying these young guys should try be their own men and not try to be someone else

[@wesleyhawks]

Zone defense just isn't worthy It doesn't fit to the greatness of basketball

[@charlescooks9360]

That's why it was illegal for a while.

[@Chuck999Norris]

Its a trapping defense. It is effective when your team is outsized and to prevent drive to the basket. That is strategy, a team defense

[@wesleyhawks]

+Archangel Dant it would be ok if the defending big man wasn't allowed to stand in the zone all day

[@duronbryant9463]

The Ol' Reliable it does

[@antoinedodson170]

Whats the point of playing zone in college. Correct me if im wrong but college bball is to prepare the players for the NBA and in the NBA they play little to no zone defense

[@Moshealthtips]

+Antoine Dodson young players are rattled by it more than nba players. you play to win in the ncaa

[@AlphaDwg]

+Antoine Dodson college bball is to win games. if you are an nba player you are an nba player whether you played zone or not

[@antoinedodson170]

AlphaDwg what im saying is that they should only play man and work hard on that type of defense to better prepare the players.

[@chandlerhamilton3208]

+Antoine Dodson College teams top priorities is never to prepare their players to play in the NBA. They prepare their players to win their school games. If one of their players happens to make the league, great, but college coaches don't focus on preparing for the league.

[@blackmayb3]

+Antoine Dodson You're wrong. Only a small fraction of the players in college will make the NBA. The point of playing zone is to make it difficult for the other team to score. Thus winning games. College basketball is a BUSINESS. The more games you win and the farther in the March Madness tournament you go is just a bigger piece of the pie for the NCAA and the school. Its all about $$$$

[@Moshealthtips]

zone defence is for weak defensive teams. man up! once you face good shooters and rebounders, youre toast. #ihatezonedefence #ihatecrossfit #ihatethepatriots

[@pacersfan550]

+Master Mo Pretty hard to argue with the tournament results especially since they were lucky to even get in

[@Moshealthtips]

Jackson Barrett it rattles college kids but eventually gets beaten unless you have carmelo

[@fiddleriddle]

Actually you need really good defenders who are dicipline, have a high basketball IQ and are willing to play as a team to play an effective zone

[@bont3]

+Robert Geiger Although you're right, I hate the zone defense.. Most of the time it's because I play aiganst an older team with older guys who don't really run anymore. But it's a tactic that works. Nothing illegal about gaurding a spot on the floor and making sure there won't be a shot from that spot on the floor. Anyway what I wanted to say, yes you're right, but same goes for man to man defense. If you want proper defense you just need an high basketball IQ and you need to be willing to play as a team. for example if you get screened when they play pick and roll you have to play team basketball.

[@duronbryant9463]

Mo Overall Fitness Hacks Zone defense is great defense plus it slows the pace down

[@fahmyboy1]

First

[@chitownsports5572]

This zone is terrible